


Republican Phenoms

by Lorren



Category: Legend Series - Marie Lu
Genre: Crushes, Day Gets a perfect trial score, F/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-06 19:39:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 21,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14654772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lorren/pseuds/Lorren
Summary: What might have happened if Daniel Wing had been given the trial score that he deserved, and instead of becoming the Republic's most wanted criminal, became a gifted student at Drake University instead?This story follows Day and June from Daniel's 10th birthday to December 1st, 2131.  The story has a natural stopping point here; however, I may (at a later date) continue on with the story if I figure out what happens to them.Chapter 14 is the only M-rated chapter; there are a couple of curse words in the rest of the story.The first draft of the story has been finished, so it shouldn't take too long for me to get this entire work published.





	1. What a Birthday

**Daniel**

In the Republic, every kid approaches their tenth birthday with at least a little bit of apprehension.  The kids in the gem sectors wonder whether they'll do well enough to get into one of the top colleges.  The kids in the slum sectors like Lake worry about whether we'll get a high enough score to get into high school, get a passing score that will get us into a labor-intensive, dangerous job for the rest of our lives, or whether we'll fail completely and end up getting shipped off to one of the Republic's labor camps.

My older brother John barely passed.  He's working in one of those dangerous jobs that leaves you sore and aching after you come home for the day.

Today is my tenth birthday.

It's been a busy day.  Last night, I stayed in a dorm with all the other kids in this part of Southern California who happened to be born on January 6th, 2116.  We were woken up early when a man in a military uniform yelled at us and told us to line up.  After a quick breakfast, we were bussed to the trial stadium.

All morning, we faced grueling physical tests like running, pushups, and rope climbing.  At noon, we went underneath the stadium for lunch.  At least they feed us well at the trials.  When I'm at home, we usually don't have a lot to eat.  Occasionally, our family of four has to share a can of something for dinner; usually, we eat something inexpensive but filling, like rice with a few vegetables.  Here at the trial stadium, we eat like all those rich trots normally eat, I suppose.  They probably feed us well because the rich kids take the trials alongside of us slum kids.  I'm sure if they were told to skip lunch, they'd complain to their parents and our local senator would never hear the end of how their precious son or daughter was abused.

After lunch, we take a written test, and then we sit in front of a panel of people and answer questions.  I answer silly questions like what my favorite subjects in school are and how I feel about the Republic.  I know exactly how they want me to answer.  After all, I've watched Republican propaganda on the Jumbotrons my whole life.

After we finish our interview portion, the officials have us sit down in rows of bleachers.  Since they go in alphabetical order and my last name is Wing, I don't have to wait for too long before they announce that the trials are over.  Part of me thinks "that was it?"  None of it was very challenging at all.  I could have done the whole thing in my sleep, with half my brain tied behind my back.  I barely used up half of the time during the written portion, and during the interview, the examiners seemed to be pleased with me.

The kids around me have been talking about their experience.

"That was tough," a girl behind me says.  "I could barely understand any of those questions about Republican history."

"How do you think you did, cousin?" a boy sitting next to me asks.  He must be from Lake sector like I am.  "I thought those goddy physical trials would never end this morning."

I shrug.  "I thought they'd be harder."

A man at the bottom of the bleachers starts calling out names.  The first group of kids, including the boy that was sitting next to me, goes into the first group.  I watch as they are told to line up; I watch them march out of the stadium.  After the first group leaves, he starts handing pieces of paper to each of the kids in the second group.  The paper must contain our scores.  Some of the kids look at the paper with relief, while other kids see their paper and are elated.  As I watch some of the kids, I see their faces fall in disappointment.

It feels like I sit there for hours as I watch everybody's name get called.

Everybody's name except mine.

I don't know what to think about this.  I'm the last person sitting in the bleachers.  Did I fail?  I couldn't have failed.  The trial was way too easy for that.

"Daniel Wing," the man at the bottom of the bleachers says.  "This way."

I get up and start following him.  He doesn't hand me a piece of paper like he does with the other kids in the second group; instead, he takes me to a room where several adults are waiting, including some of the people that interviewed me earlier that day.

One of the men in the room stands up and shakes my hand.  "Mr. Wing," he says, "I'm sure that you're wondering why you're here."

I nod.  I have the feeling that this is not standard procedure for the trials.

"My name is Chien," the man says.  "Sit, please."  He sits back down, and I sit in a chair in front of the adults.  "I am here because you achieved a perfect score on your trial.  As I'm sure you know, this has never happened before."

I can hardly hear anything after he says "perfect score on your trial."  This is a good thing, yeah?

"We're currently having the videos from the trial reviewed, just to make sure that there wasn't any cheating," Chien says, "although we take great pains to make sure that cheating is impossible.  We may need you to do the trial again, just to be sure.  At any rate, with a score like yours, it's time to start talking about your future."

_A perfect score_.  I can't believe it.  My mom is going to be really happy, and my older brother is going to be overjoyed.  I won't have to live the same life that they do.  I'll be able to get out of the slums and maybe even get an apartment in a gem sector some day.

"Usually, with a very high score, you'll get to attend high school for six years, and then we'll enroll you in one of the top universities, like Drake.  With your perfect score, we feel that you can do a little better than that."

I'm not sure what "better than that" means, but I keep listening.

"As you know, the war with the Colonies has been going on for many years.  We need our best people in positions of leadership, and we need our best people in leadership positions _now_ , not in ten years, understand?"

I don't really understand, but I nod anyway.

"In your case, with your perfect score, we have decided that you'll be fast-tracked through high school and will enter Drake three years early.  That way, you'll be ready for leadership in seven years, not ten."

_They want me to finish high school in three years?_

"I know that's a lot to ask of you, and if you're not up to the coursework, we can always slow things down, but I think you can handle it.  Were you ever bored in school?"

"All the time, sir."

He nods.  "That's what I thought.  Perhaps we'll finally be able to challenge you then."

One of the other men in the room looks up from a stack of paperwork.  "We have reviewed your family's financial situation, Mr. Wing, and I'm sure that you may have some concerns about how your family is going to afford all of this.  After all, if you had barely passed the trials, you could start working at the end of the school year, and you'd start bringing in some income.  You don't have to worry about any of that.  As of today, you'll begin to receive a monthly stipend that is twice what your mother makes at her job.  I know that's not a lot, but this is only for the years while you're in school."

_Not a lot?_   Our family's income is more than doubling at this point, because I know that Mom earns more than John.

"In addition to your monthly stipend, you will receive a full scholarship to Drake University, once you get to that point.  It will include a uniform allowance, a room in the dorms, and a pass to eat at the cafeteria there.  I know that you could _technically_ travel back and forth from Drake to Lake every day, but it would probably be easier if you were able to stay at the school.  Especially with the heavy course load that Drake students have to take."

Chien stands up and shakes my hand once again.  "Congratulations," he says to me.  "I'm sure that you're going to want to go home and tell your family the good news."

I nod.  I can't believe how my life has practically changed overnight.  What a birthday, yeah?


	2. The Other Prodigy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> June takes her trial.

**June**

I'm waiting for the trials to complete.

Since my last name is Iparis, I finished the interview portion of my trial before most of the other kids.  Now I'm just waiting for the rest of the kids to finish.  I sit there as I watch the children return from their interviews.  Most of them look nervous.  One boy came out with a face as white as a ghost's.  A couple of the kids, probably from gem sectors like myself, leave the interviews with confident expressions on their faces.

"How do you think you did?" a girl next to me asks.  She's a little skinny and her clothes are a little tattered.  She must be from a slum sector.

"Fine," I say.  The test was easier than I thought it would be, actually.  I won't tell the girl that; she looks nervous, like she doesn't know whether she passed or not.  "How do you think you did?"

"I don't know," she replies.  "I think I passed, but I was hoping to do better.  My parents were hoping that I'd do well.  They wanted me to be the first person in our family to graduate from high school."

So my suspicions were right.  I have no doubt that I passed.  For me, the only question is if I did well enough to get into an elite school, or whether I'll be going to one of the less prestigious colleges.

Earlier this year, some slum sector kid named Daniel scored a perfect score.  It was all over the Jumbotrons, because it had never happened before.  After a few days, the trial committee decided that he needed to take the trial again, just in case it was a fluke the first time.  Again, his score was perfect.

His parents are probably like the people that clean the common areas of my apartment complex, or recycle trash, yet half the Republic has been fawning all over him because he scored so well on his trials.  It doesn't help that he's cute.  At school, half of the girls have been gossiping about him, talking about how adorable and amazing they think he is.

Gag me.

I think the biggest problem is that he knows that he's cute.  I've seen him give a few interviews on the news, and he always seem to have this smug grin on his face.  Every time I see him, I want to reach into the television screen and slap it off of his face.

"I'm Marie," she says, her red curls bobbing with her hair.

"June."

"I hope this finishes soon.  I just want to know my score."

"There's fifty-seven more kids left."  I counted them earlier.

"That many?" she sighs.  "I wonder if any of us will get a perfect score like that Wing kid."

"Doubt it."  Ugh.  It was six months ago.  Do I have to keep hearing about him?

"He's dreamy."

I roll my eyes.  He's cute, but so what?  He's probably a jerk.

When the rest of the kids finish the trials, a man comes out and talks to us, congratulating us on finishing the trials, and letting us know that he will be separating us into groups based on our rankings.

Metias already told me about this part.  The first kids he calls will be the ones that failed the trial.  They'll line up and get on a bus to go to the labor camps.

I know I'll be in the second group.  He'll hand us a piece of paper with our scores on it.  The scores will dictate what our opportunities are going to be.  Those with low scores will be assigned a work assignment at the end of the year; kids with higher scores will be given different choices of colleges based on how they rank.  Those that barely make it into college will have to attend a local school; the kids with the highest scores will be able to choose from one of the elite universities.  If I score high enough, I want to go to Drake, which is the top school in the Republic.

Marie is not in the first group.  "Those are the kids that failed the trial," I whisper to her.  She looks visibly relieved.

The man at the front continues to call names, after we watch the kids that failed the trial line up and head out of the stadium.  As they come to the front, they receive their scores.  I watch the emotions of the kids as they receive their scores, which range from delight to disappointment.

I wonder where I am going to place.

I watch as they call all of the other kids in front of me.  When Marie gets her paper, she doesn't look excited or incredibly upset.  I'm sure that she didn't have high expectations; she probably either didn't make it into high school or just barely got in.

I end up being the last name that they call.

"June Iparis," the man says.  "Follow me."

This is not standard, at least from what Metias told me.  He takes me back underneath the stadium, into a room with eight other adults in it.  One of the men in the room stands up and shakes my hand.  "My name is Chien," he says.  "I would like to congratulate you on your perfect trial score."

My eyes widen.  _I got a perfect score?_

"It's unprecedented, I know," Chien says.  "Before this year, we had never seen anybody get a perfect score, yet this year, you're the second person to achieve it.  Of course, you'll have to retake the trial to make sure that it wasn't a mistake, but I'm sure you'll do fine."

I smile.  _Take that, cute Wing boy!_

"A perfect score like yours comes with certain… responsibilities," Chien says.  "I know your brother Metias; he used to work with me.  So I'm sure that you know all about how having talent and being from a prominent family brings responsibility with it.  As you know, the Republic is trying to get the upper hand in the war against the Colonies.  We need to get our most gifted leaders into the fight as quickly as possible.  If you are up to the challenge, we would like to see you finish your high school coursework in the next two years and start attending Drake University shortly after your twelfth birthday."

I'm sure that I can do that.  I've already skipped a couple of grades.

Another man with a folder on his lap speaks up.  "I know that finances are not going to be a problem for you, but you will be receiving a full scholarship to Drake, along with a small sum to help pay for your living expenses, effective today.  You don't have to decide now, but if you want to stay in the dorms while attending Drake, you have that option, otherwise, if you want to continue living with your brother, you can choose that, and we'll provide you with a small additional stipend in lieu of the room and board costs."

This must have been what they offered that slum kid.  Scholarships to the university are standard for high-achieving students, but receiving a monthly stipend while still in high school is not.

"Thank you," I respond.

"Again, I would like to congratulate you on your perfect trial score," Chien says, shaking my hand.  "I'm looking forward to seeing more good things from you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like it! I said that since this work is complete, I'll be able to get it out quickly!
> 
> Comments and likes are appreciated! Thanks for reading!


	3. Drake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel arrives at Drake University.

**Daniel**

Everybody in my family is proud of me.

I run my hands along the top of my hair and look in the mirror.  The buzz cut feels prickly against my fingers.  My hair probably hasn't been this short since I was born.  Long hair is more fashionable in Lake sector, but I won't be spending as much time over here for the next several years.  I might never spend much time here again.  I'll come home on the weekends and over breaks and holidays, but I'll be living in in the dorms the rest of the time.

After college, they’ll probably give me as a job as an officer or something and I'll go help fight the war against the colonies.  The next few summers are probably going to be the last ones our family spends together.  It's a sobering thought.

If I had barely passed the trial, like my brother John did, we'd probably live in this little house together forever, or at least until one of us found some slum girl that we liked and got married.  That's not going to happen now.  That's a good thing, I guess, because at least one of us is getting out of the slums, but at the same time, I'm sad to leave this little family of ours behind.

My brother John already left for work; I said goodbye to him last night.  I tousle my brother Eden's hair, then give my mom a hug and kiss her cheek.  Her eyes are shining with unshed tears.  "I'm so proud of you," she tells me.  "I always knew that you were special."

I have to let her go.  If I don't leave now, I'll probably start blubbering too.  That's not the look I want going for me on my first day at the university.  Especially when I’m going to be one of only two twelve-year-olds there.  I can't have the older kids thinking that I'm a baby, yeah?

I walk to the train station and wait on the platform.  Some of the people around me are wary of my appearance.  I checked into the dorms last week, so I don't have my suitcase with me, but I am wearing the Drake military uniform.  In the Lake sector, you learn to be distrustful of authority.  Most of the time, you try to avoid people in uniforms.  The city patrols, plague patrols, and military are all to be avoided around here.  Of course, since I'm only twelve years old, it must be a little confusing to see me like this.  Either that, or they've seen my picture on the Jumbotrons and they know who I am.  My white-blonde hair is fairly recognizable.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a couple of girls, a couple of years older than me, giggling and smiling at me.  I smile back at them.  "Hi," I say.

"You're him, aren't you?" the younger girl, with pretty brown curls, asks me.

"Depends on who you're looking for, sweetheart," I reply.  My train arrives.  "This is my train."  Evidently, it's not their train, because they stay on the platform as I board.

 

The train stops right in front of the entrance to Drake.  I get off and start walking to the main campus quad, where orientation is supposed to be held.  On the way over there, a boy bumps into my shoulder, hard, as he passes me.  I know he did it on purpose.

"Sorry," the boy says, but he says it in such a way I know he doesn't mean it.  From the looks of the stripes on his sleeves, he's a sophomore.

"Watch where you're going," I say.  I notice a few people around me looking at us; from the looks of their glances, I have the feeling that this kid is a known troublemaker.

"Maybe you should watch where _you're_ going."  He looks at me for a few moments.  "You're one of those two twelve-year-olds, aren't you?  Well, this isn't kindergarten, so watch yourself.  We don't need any babies here."

I glare at him for a moment.  I've dealt with people like him my whole life.  He's like those people on the city patrols who drive by our neighborhoods and bully those of us in Lake.  More than likely, that's the kind of person that he's going to grow up to be.

I've learned how to deal with people like this.  I'll find a way to get back at him without getting caught.  Like the time when I was seven and my dad came home after the police beat him up, and I burned down a wing of the police station.

For the moment, I continue on and find a seat with the other freshmen at orientation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a fairly short chapter, so I'm posting another one today.


	4. First Day of School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> June's first day at Drake University. She meets Daniel for the first time.

**June**

After I give Metias a quick hug goodbye, I find my way to the quad, where the other kids are gathering for orientation.  I find the other freshmen and sit down next to them.  They tower over me, but I'm used to attending school with kids that are older than I am.

In the row ahead of me, I see one student that is much shorter than the others.  Must be the Wing kid.  I watch him as he chats with one of the girls next to him.  What, are the girls at Drake going to fawn all over him too?  He's been out of the news lately, but I swear, whenever his name came up at Harrion High, as it sometimes did since he's the only other kid to get a perfect trial score, the girls around me would get this dreamy look in their eyes.

Well, not this girl.

Orientation starts with the pledge, and then continues with various speakers.  It's pretty boring, and I'm guessing that it's the same every year.  We hear from the president of the university, various teachers, and some general about how we're the future of this country and the Republic depends on us.  Standard stuff.

While everybody drones on and on, I wonder if I'll be able to make any friends this year.  I feel a renewed sense of hope.  Every time I skip a grade, I always enter the new school year with thoughts of maybe being able to find friends.  So far, I've always been disappointed.  None of the kids around me seem to get me.  I talk about things, and they seem to nod for a while, but then I can see their eyes glazing over as if they don't understand me.  As I got into the upper grades, the girls around me started talking about boys and makeup, and things that I don't find particularly all that interesting.  Maybe there will be some kids here at Drake with similar interests as me.

At nine minutes to 1100 hours, I feel my stomach growling.  I wonder if the other kids here are feeling hungry as well.  I can't wait for this orientation to end.  The speeches seem to be winding down, so hopefully they'll dismiss us soon.

After orientation ends, we start heading towards our first class of the day.  We'll finally get to eat lunch after that, and then we'll go to our remaining classes.  Since the first part of the day was taken up with orientation, all of the classes are going to be shorter than normal.

Suddenly, I feel someone shove me from behind.  As I stumble forward, I accidentally knock into another student.  We both tumble onto the pavement.  What a great start to my day.

"I’m sorry," I say to the other student.  The girl looks beyond me at the person that shoved me and hurries away.

I turn around and see who shoved me.  From the look of the stripes on his uniform, he's a sophomore.  He's looking at me with a mocking expression on his face.  He's standing with a group of his friends.  "Sorry," he says.  He walks past me and purposely brushes against my shoulder.  "Didn't see you."

We've attracted the attention of several people around me, who seem to be amused by our exchange.  I can't let this kid get the best of me.  Metias told me just this morning that I need to stand up for myself, and I can't let everybody around me think that I'm weak and not officer material.

"Get some glasses then," I retort.  "A blind person could've seen me walking there."

I can tell that he didn't expect that response from me.

"You're that Iparis girl, aren't you?  One of the two twelve-year-olds on campus."  His mouth is twisted, and he puts his hands in his pockets.  "Speak up.  Why so shy now?"

"Yes, that's me," I say.

"They did say you were a cocky one, thinking you're a big shot now that you've made it to Drake on account of your family's money."

I suddenly feel self-conscious.  My uniform doesn't fit correctly, and I hope the people around me don't notice.

"I'm on scholarship," I reply calmly.

"Oh, is that so?" the boy answers.  "Congratulations, little girl -- did they take pity on you because of what happened to your parents?  Well, we all know how you really got in.  If your last name wasn't Iparis and your brother didn't slip a wad of cash to the admin officials, and if they didn't fake your talents for some sensationalist news, I bet you'd still be sitting in your little grade school chair."

I can't let him provoke me.  I can't be the first to throw a punch.

I do use his own words against him, accusing him of getting here on his parents' money, just like he accused me.  That seems to get him riled up.  He decides to try to push me, then swing at me.  I block his efforts to hit me.  After dodging several times, he manages to push me on the shoulder, and knocks me down.

"What's going on?" I hear a voice shout.  It's a young officer.  She sends most of the onlookers to their classes, and then argues with me for a moment about whether I was fighting or not.  I try to defend myself, telling her that I didn't even touch him, but she's not buying it.  She sends me to see the dean secretary anyway.

As I start to head off to the dean secretary's office, I notice a figure with dreamy blue eyes watching me from afar; he almost looks like he's studying me.  He's cuter in person than he is on the Jumbotrons.  Daniel.

 

Unfortunately, I'm not able to convince the dean secretary, Ms. Whitaker, to let me off with just a warning.  They hand me a gold slip of paper with my report on it.  I hope my brother won't be too angry with me.  After all, he was the one who told me to stand up for myself.  That's all I did.

I stare at the paper miserably as I sit in my Republic History, 2080-2100 class.  I look at the students around me.  Daniel Wing is sitting in the second row, all the way on the left.  He seems to be half paying attention, fiddling with a pen.

"Hey," somebody whispers from the row behind me.  "Kid."  I turn around to see the girl who is trying to get my attention.

"Hi," I whisper.

"I saw what you did out there in the quad today," she says.  "Nice job.  I didn't think I'd ever see a twelve-year-old get the better of someone like Patrick Stanson."

I sit up straighter and smile back at her.  "Thanks," I say.  "I don't think Drake will want to see me doing that again, though."

As I talk to her a little longer, I find out that my schedule has changed a little.  I've been put into _intermediate_ defense, a class reserved only for sophomores.  I can't tell whether they're trying to praise me or punish me for my earlier interaction.

As the class ends, the girl I talked to earlier joins up with her friends, and quickly says to me "Bye!"  I come to the realization that, once again, I have nothing in common with these people.  I suddenly have the urge to skip another grade.

I look up from gathering my books to see Daniel Wing standing right next to my desk.  He's looking straight at me.

"Nice 'fight' out there earlier," he says to me, smiling.

"Uh, thanks."

"I had to deal with that guy earlier today."  He looks down at my report.  "Your only problem is that you got caught."

"What?"

"That's probably never something you've ever needed to deal with.  You've probably lived in the gem sectors all your life.  I've seen people like him all the time.  You just need to find a way to get your revenge against people like that without getting caught, sweetheart."  His eyes sparkle with mischief.

"I'll keep that in mind."  I really don't need this slum sector boy giving me advice.

"You're very attractive."

I've been complimented on my appearance before, but not with his tone of voice.  It catches me off guard.

"Well, you're an arrogant ass," I blurt out.  I feel my cheeks start to turn pink.  "And it's Cadet Iparis to you, not sweetheart."  I watch as the smile drops off of his face, replaced by a look of disappointment and sadness.  Good.  I storm out of the room.  As I leave, I can feel his eyes follow me.

I might have just alienated the one person in the school that I might have something in common with.  I don't care though.  He _is_ arrogant.  He had the gall to give me advice, and call me sweetheart, when he doesn't even know me.

 

"So," Metias says to me as I recline on our living room couch, watching a cartoon.  He hands me a mug of hot chocolate with a handmade marshmallow in it.  "Do you want to talk about this report thing?"

Metias seems to always know what I need.  This kind of hot chocolate is made from melted chocolate, not the powdery mix.  I guess he's used to me having bad first days of school.

I don't answer right away, savoring the smell and the flavor of my drink.

"They said I got in a fight," I finally say.  "But I didn't.  I didn't even touch the other guy.  And then Ms. Whitaker -- that's my dean secretary -- she said that I don't respect authority enough, and that I talk back too much.  Then they assigned me into Intermediate Defense instead of Introductory Defense.  That's a good thing, right?  But they also gave me a report."

"June," Metias says, clicking his tongue in disapproval, "What have I told you about talking back to your teachers?"  He sits down next to me, holding his own mug of hot chocolate.

"She's not my teacher.  She's my dean secretary."

"Whatever.  I know I said to stick up for yourself, but that doesn’t mean I want you to go around picking fights or causing trouble on purpose.  It sounds like you deserved that report, kid."

"And then there's this boy," I say, growing annoyed at the thought of him.  "He told me that I should have gotten back at the kid that picked on me without getting caught.  And then he said that he thought that I was attractive."'

"I hope you realize that the kids in the school are way too old for you," Metias says, shaking his head in disapproval.  "You're not supposed to date until you're thirty anyway."

"Ha. Ha.  I know.  It was the other twelve-year-old that told me that, so he's really only about six months and five days older than I am."  I hug my knees.  "Don't worry, I told him that he was an arrogant ass, so I'm pretty sure that dating is out of the question with him too."

Metias raises his eyebrows at me.

"But after I said that, I thought that maybe I just alienated the one kid that could understand what it was like to be a twelve-year-old in a school full of sixteen-year-olds and up.  But then again, I don't know, just because he's the same age as me doesn't mean that we have anything in common.  He's from the slums, so, what could he have in common with me anyway?"

"June, don't judge like that.  He can't help where he grew up, any more than you can.  And you called him an arrogant ass, after one conversation?  Where he'd been trying to be helpful?"

"It was the first time that I've talked to him," I say, "but he's been on the news since January a couple of years ago, after he got that perfect 1500 trial score.  I could tell what kind of person he was just from watching that stupid grin on his face.  And then all of the stupid, insipid girls at my high school couldn't blather on enough about how cute he was all the time.  It makes me sick."

"Do you know what you sound like?" Metias asks calmly.  "Your complaints about him are all about where he was born, what he looks like, and what other people think of him.  You can't exactly tell what a person is like from those things, Junebug."

I shrug.  "Maybe.  But it doesn't really matter anyway.  I'm pretty sure that I hurt him really badly when I said that to him."

Metias scoots closer to me on the couch.  "Well, tomorrow is going to be another day," he says.  "You have a good heart, Junebug.  I know you make mistakes, and that's okay.  It will all work out, eventually."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will not be posting anything tomorrow, because my schedule will be pretty full from about 7:30 tomorrow morning until about 6 PM the next day (with barely enough time to sleep put in there). Maybe I'll post chapter 5 Thursday evening. Depends.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments and likes are appreciated. This story is probably the direct result of someone's comment left to me a few months ago.


	5. Lost Puppy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel wanders around campus and makes a friend, then gets up for class the next day.

**Daniel**

I feel a little lost after classes.  I don't really know anybody, and I don't really know my way around this place yet.  I walk back to the dorms to drop off my books.  My room is on the fifth floor, room 512.  I see some of the other students walking through the hallways.  They nod at me as I walk by, but they don't really say anything.  What are they going to say to a twelve-year-old anyway?

I'm sure that my room would be small compared to gem sector standards, but I don't have to share it with anybody.  I have a bed, a desk, a small closet, and a bookshelf.  It seems large to me.  I guess if I had one, I could put a television on top of the bookshelf.  I don't though, and I probably won't any time soon.  I give most of my monthly stipend to my family.  They need it more than I do.

After I drop off my books, I walk around the campus, getting a feel for the way the campus is laid out.  Next to the main quad is the track.  Everybody at Drake is assigned to a platoon that they'll stay with for their entire four years here.  I've been assigned to platoon 4B.  I don't really know what that means, but I do know that tomorrow morning I'm supposed to report bright and early to the track for physical training.  We have physical training on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and drill (on the quad) on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Other than drill and physical training, I went to all of my classes today, so I already know where everything is.  I was in quite a rush today, so I didn't get to take in the beauty of the green areas on campus or notice the stately brick buildings.  This is a completely different world than that of Lake, with its crumbling buildings and smell of salt air and garbage.

"Hey kid!" I hear a voice behind me.  I turn around.  I'm sure that I'm going to be the "kid" on campus for quite a while.

"Hi," I say.

A girl with red curly hair smiles at me.  "You're the Wing boy, aren't you?"  She's about six inches taller than I am.

"Yeah."

"I saw you on television.  I'm Caroline."

I hold out my hand to shake her hand.  "Nice to meet you.  Are you a freshman?"

"Yeah, this is my first year here.  I didn't know whether I'd get into Drake or not, but I did well enough in high school to come here."

I put my hands in my pockets.  "Congratulations."

"Well, I didn't get a 1500 on my trial.  Not anything close to that."

I shrug.  "It's not really anything."

"Not really anything!"  She looks dumbfounded.  "It's only happened twice in the entire history of the trials!"

"We all have something we're good at," I say.  "And things we're not.  For example, I’m not good at painting."  I grin at her.

She laughs.  "Like the Republic needs painters."

"Well, maybe it will someday," I say.  "When this war is over.  And then, maybe my skills will be useless."

"We're not all going to be painting, even after the war," she says.  We're passing Anderson Hall, where the cafeteria is located.  "Want to get something to eat?"

"Sure."

The cafeteria is full of delicious looking food.  I don't know if I've ever seen so much food in my life.  Even better, I can take as much as I want.  I know that wouldn't be a good idea, however, because we have to maintain fitness standards while we're at Drake.  That was never a problem while living in Lake sector, because we never had enough food, but I'll have to be careful here.

I decide to take some lasagna and some broccoli, with strawberries for dessert.  We sit down at one of the round tables and I stick my fork into my lasagna and take a bite.  It tastes heavenly.

Caroline takes a bite of the pizza she took.  She makes a face.  "I wish they had better food here," she remarks.  "Cafeteria food is disgusting just about everywhere you go."

I laugh.  "I was just thinking about how delicious this food here is.  But then again, I've lived in Lake sector my whole life."  I think for a moment.  "My mom is a good cook though, when we have ingredients to cook stuff.  Most of the time we just open up a can to share with the family."

She shakes her head.  "What a weird life you must have had!"

A pretty blonde girl sits down next to me; her equally attractive brunette friend is with her.  "You must be that boy with the perfect trial score!" she says.

"What a little cutie you are!" the brunette gushes.

I smile at them.  Soon, the table is full of girls that all think I'm "cute."  I feel like they see me like a puppy that someone just took home.  Girls like puppies.  I'm sure that the novelty of my being at their school will wear off fairly quickly.  These girls are far too old to be interested in me as anything other than an interesting diversion.

I think about June Iparis, the girl in my history class.  I don't know what I did to upset her so much.  I've seen her on the Jumbotrons before, of course; everybody knows about the golden child of the Ruby sector, but she is so much more beautiful in person.  I don't know if I've ever seen anybody that beautiful in my life, and for some reason, she thinks I'm lower than pond scum.

 

The alarm went off way too early this morning, even though I didn't stay up too late.  After I got back from dinner, I studied for a while and then wandered the dormitories for a bit.  I found out that Patrick Stanson's room was on the fourth floor, room 422, and that he didn't leave his door locked when he hung out in the common room to watch television.  What an idiot.

Before I went to bed, I made good on my promise to get back at Cadet Stanson without getting caught.  I got plenty of sleep, but I'm still tired.  My mind slowly wakes up as I get dressed in my athletic gear, grab a quick bite from the cafeteria, and make my way to the track.

There are several groups of kids milling around.  At every group, an upperclassman is holding up a sign with their platoon designation on it.  All of the platoons end in B -- the A platoons must be drilling today.  I find platoon 4B and join them.

Some of the kids are already talking to each other like they've known each other for years.  They probably have.  A few kids look a little lost, like I am.

"Hi, I’m Derrick," a boy with brown hair says to me.

"Daniel."  I wave to him.  "Is this your first year here?"

"Yeah.  I'm from Las Vegas.  I scored really well on my trial, so I got to come here."  He looks me up and down.  "You're one of the Republic's wunderkind, I take it."

"Yeah, I guess."

I look out at the athletic field, and see June… that is, Cadet Iparis… half-jogging towards our group.  _Great_.  I get to spend the next four years in a group with a girl that despises me.

The upperclassman holding the 4B sign looks at his watch.  "You're almost late, Iparis," he says curtly.

"Sorry," she says, half out of breath.  "Traffic was really bad this morning."  She glances quickly at me and then looks away.

"Plan for bad traffic next time," he says, sternly.

He looks at all of us.  "Platoon, fall in!" he shouts.

I'm not sure what 'fall in' means, but I guess I’m about to find out.  I look around and try to copy what everybody else is doing.  Everybody is holding up an arm and lining up in some sort of formation.  We never did this in high school, but most of the people here already know what they're doing.  I’m sure I'll get the hang of it soon.

"Cadets!" he shouts.  I wonder if they always shout so much during physical training.  "Welcome to platoon 4B!  If you are not supposed to be in platoon 4B, go find your correct platoon!"  We all stand where we are.  Evidently, we're all supposed to be here.

"My name is First Class Cadet Martell!  He shouts.  If you're not in shape yet, we will get you there!  The first exercise we're going to do is push-ups!  Let's start with twenty!"

Our platoon does push-ups first.  After that, we pair up to do sit-ups, sitting on our partner's feet to make it easier for them, then switching so that the other person does the sit-ups.  Derrick and I are partners today.  We do several other exercises to strengthen our stomach muscles and arms, then we go for a run in formation.

Running has always been easy for me.  While I don't particularly like the push-ups and sit-ups, I love the feel of the air through my lungs while we're running.  I'm almost disappointed when we get back to the track and line up in formation again.

"Platoon, dismissed!" Cadet Martell shouts.  I'm not sure if he can speak with a normal volume.

We all relax, and after a few moments, I start walking back to my dorm room to change and get ready for classes.  Ms. Iparis is right ahead of me.  Her eyes look at me, unfeeling.

If we have to be in the same platoon for the next four years, I'm going to have to at least try to be civil.  "Good morning, Cadet Iparis," I say as I pass her.  At least she's eye candy.

"Good morning, Cadet Wing," she says coldly.

It might turn out to be a long four years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and likes are appreciated!


	6. Making Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> June makes her first friend at Drake, and almost gets another report on the second day of school.

**June**

It's going to be a long year.

It's almost like Daniel is following me, taunting me.  Not only did he end up in my platoon, which will stay the same for all four years that I'm here at Drake, but he also ended up in my Introduction to Republican Weapons class, which I missed yesterday because I was in the dean secretary's office getting my report.  Why couldn't somebody else be in half my classes?

He had already arrived in my Introduction to Republican Weapons class before I got there, so I was able to purposely find a seat in the opposite half of the classroom.  If I look at the teacher and my eyes don't wander around the classroom, I don't even have to see him.

"Hey, kid," a voice next to me whispers.

I look up from my paper that I'm taking notes with and smile.  "Hi," I whisper.

"You're in the same platoon as I am," he says.  "I'm Josh."

"June.  Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, everybody knows who you are.  Did you see that we have a survival skills camping trip planned in a month?  The week after Independence Day?"

I shake my head.  "No, I haven't looked that far ahead into the calendar."

"It should be pretty fun."

My teacher, Miss Rowell, stops her explanation of the basic types of guns that our soldiers use in order to look directly at me.  "Cadet Iparis, is there something you would like to share with the entire group?" she asks.

"No ma'am," I say, lowering my gaze.  I can't afford to get a second report on the second day of school.  I don't want to get expelled.  "I just think that these guns are fascinating, that's all."

"Well, perhaps you would like to keep your opinions on the Republic's weapons to yourself, at least until class is over," she says, her eyes looking over her glasses at me.  She has dark hair pulled back into a severe bun.

"Yes, ma'am," I say, trying to sink down into my seat.  Some of the kids around me are giggling.  Across the room, Daniel is just looking at me.  I'm usually good at reading people, but I can't figure out what he's thinking.

After the class calms down, Miss Rowell continues to talk about the benefits of different Republican handguns, and why we would use one weapon over another in certain situations.  I shoot Josh an apologetic glance, and look down at my paper to take notes.

 

At lunch, I get a salad and some chicken and see Josh at one of the tables.  I wave to him and he motions to me to come sit with him.

"Sorry about getting you into trouble in class today," he says as I take a seat at the table.  "I have a feeling she's not going to be one of my favorite teachers."

"I’m used to getting into trouble," I say, "I got my first report yesterday."  I frown.  "Not a good way to start my time at Drake, huh?  At least I didn't get another report.  I can't afford yet another one today."

Josh takes a bite of the hamburger he took for lunch.  "I suppose it's not easy being twelve years old at a university though," he says.  "They expect more out of us here."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the other twelve-year-old, Daniel, sitting at a table with a group of girls.  He looks relaxed, and has his arm around one of the girls.  "Perhaps not for everyone."  I tilt my head in his direction.

"Not everything is always what it looks like," he says, picking up a French fry and dipping it into ketchup.  "I saw him at physical training this morning, but I haven't had the chance to talk to him yet.  I did hear some of the girls in my calculus class talking about him earlier today though.  They think he's cute, but in the way you might think of a preschooler as cute or something."

I giggle at that thought, then think about the guys that I've met at the school so far.  Some of them are very attractive, but I know that they're way too old for me, and I wouldn't really be interested in a relationship with any of them.  Then I think of how I might feel if I was in a class with an eight-year-old.  Even if the eight-year-old was cute, that's probably all I would think of him -- as cute.  It's not like an eight-year-old would be boyfriend material or anything.

"What classes do you have later today?" he asks.

"I have Intermediate Self Defense after lunch today," I remark, "and then I have Republic History 2080-2100."

"How'd you get into Intermediate Self Defense?  Isn't that a class for sophomores?"

"Yeah," I nod.  "But they bumped me up after I successfully defended myself against Patrick Stanson."

"Good job on that one," he says.  "I wasn't there, but I heard about it."

My insides warm with pride.  "Thanks."

"I heard that he was cursing up a storm this morning," he laughs.  "He was yelling that his alarm went off at three in the morning today, and then when he went to take a shower, his soap had been coated in nail polish!"

"Really?  That's funny."  I wonder if Daniel had anything to do with that.  Yesterday he told me that I should get my revenge, but that I shouldn't get caught.

"Nobody has a clue how it happened, but I doubt anybody is sympathetic towards him.  He picks on everybody he perceives as weak.  If anybody does know anything about it, they're not saying anything."

"I have a guess of how that happened," I say, glancing over at Daniel's table, "but like everybody else, I'm not saying anything either."

 

"How was your day, Junebug?" Metias says as he picks me up.  His coworker, Thomas, is sitting in the passenger's seat, so I sit in the back.  "I see you didn't get another report."

"No, fortunately."  I fasten my seat belt.  "It was a little better than yesterday, I suppose."  I look over at Thomas.  "Hi, Thomas."

"Good afternoon, Ms. Iparis," he says.

"I have some work to do this evening, June, so I'll have to drop you off at home," Metias says.  "Sorry about that."

"That's fine," I say.  "Today was a lot better than yesterday, at least.  I made a new friend."

"That's good to hear," my brother notes.

"Yeah, he's going to be in my platoon, so we'll be drilling together for the next four years too."  I feel my face sour a little.  "Unfortunately, that _boy_ is also in my platoon."

"Which one?  The one you got into a fight with yesterday?"  I look at my brother's reflection through the rear-view mirror.  He looks concerned.

"No, not Patrick Stanson.  That would be worse, I guess.  And I didn't get into a _fight_ with him.  I didn't even touch him."

"Is there a boy that's hurting you?" Thomas turns around to look at me.

"No.  Patrick Stanson tried to bully me yesterday, but he didn't hurt me.  The other boy only irritates me."  I roll my eyes.  "Today at lunch he had this entire table full of girls practically drooling over him.  It was disgusting."

"Why do you care what he does?" my brother asks.

I shrug.  I guess I shouldn't let him bother me so much.  I don't know why he does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments are always appreciated!


	7. Home Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel spends the weekend at home with his family. And... he kisses a girl.

**Daniel**

History class ends and I gather my books.  I glance back at Cadet Iparis before I leave the room.  She's talking to Josh, one of the other guys in our platoon.  She glares at me, then looks back at Josh.

I really don't get her.  I say one thing to her the first time I meet her and she practically bites my head off.  Oh well.  She is beautiful though.

As soon as I can get back to my dorm room, change my clothes, and pack a duffel bag for the weekend, I'll be back on my way to Lake sector.  I'll be able to see my baby brother Eden, and later on tonight, when he gets back from work, my older brother John.  Even though the last three days have been full of studying and finding my way around campus, I've missed them.

I run into Caroline on my way to the dorms.  "Hi!"

"How are you doing, Daniel?"  She gives me a quick hug.

"I'm fine.  I get to go home to see my family for the weekend, so that's good."

"That must be nice," she says, adjusting the books in her arms.  "My family lives in Denver, so I won't be able to see them until winter break.  That's the downside to choosing Drake.  It's the best school in the country though, so it'll be worth it after graduation."

I nod.  "Yeah, I'm fortunate that Drake is right here, especially since the Republic pretty much told me that I had to come here.  Well, I'll see you around!"

It feels weird wearing civilian clothes as I stand at the train station in front of the university.  My clothes, which would be nice in Lake sector, look old and worn out next to the rich people who live in Batalla that are waiting for the train.  Then of course, my haircut will make me stand out in Lake, where long hair is fashionable.  For a moment, I'm stuck between worlds.

As soon as I step into my old home on the corner of Watson and Figueroa, all of that feeling of not belonging anywhere melts away.  My older brother John greets me at the door with a hug.

"John!" I exclaim.  "I thought you'd still be at work!"  John usually doesn't come home from the steam plant until about nine or ten.

"They let me out early today so I could celebrate," he says, releasing me from our embrace.  "Everybody is so proud of you.  It's not very often that someone from Lake sector gets to go to Drake, you know."

I had never really thought of that before.  I was unique in that I was going to Drake at age 12, but I hadn't stopped to think that there really weren't too many people there from Lake at all.  There were quite a few people in my classes from the gem sectors around here, a lot from other cities around the Republic, but not too many from the poor sectors in Los Angeles.

I guess they'd need to get a scholarship to attend, and those scholarships really only go to the people that get the highest scores on the trials.  Which almost never happens with the people that live in the slum sectors.

My baby brother Eden is right next to me, giving me a hug.  "I missed you, kid," I say, ruffling his hair.  "How have you been?"

"Great!" his face beams with pride.  "My teacher put me in the advanced reading group.  She said that if I finished reading all of the assigned work before the end of the week, I could go get some other books out of the library or do a science experiment while I waited for the other kids to catch up!"  Eden has always been smart.  He's probably going to be smarter than I am.  If he was stronger, I might even think he could also get a perfect trial score; unfortunately, he's always been a little sickly.  "I don't know if they would have let me do that if you weren't my brother."

"I'm happy for you."  I know the feeling of finishing all of the school work before the rest of the class moves on, and I'm glad that they're letting him explore his interests instead of sitting in class bored.

I look over at my mom, who's taking a chicken out of the oven.  She looks at me and smiles.  "I made a special dinner to celebrate your first week at Drake, college boy," she says.  I look at her hands, which are free from cuts.  I remember a few years ago, when her hands were always bandaged after she came home from work.  One of the first things that I was able to get her with my monthly stipend from the Republic was some heavy-duty work gloves for her hands.  Now she doesn't get cut up as much as she used to.

"Thanks, Mom."

After dinner is ready, we sit around our little table, with one leg too short, that we always put cardboard underneath.  How different this is from the tables in the Drake cafeteria!  It's different, but in a good way.  It doesn't matter how big our table is, or if it's wobbly: what matters is the people sitting around it, and I love these people.

"So how was your first week of classes?" my mom asks.

"It was good.  None of it is so hard that I can't handle it, but I do have to study a bit in the evenings," I say.  "We have physical training twice a week, and military drill twice a week.  I'm sure I'm one of the fastest runners."

"You've always been really good at running," John remarks.

"I made some friends.  Most of the girls seem to think that I’m cute, like a puppy or something."  I laugh.

My mom gives me a concerned look.  "Those girls are all older than you."

"I know that," I say, cutting a piece of my chicken.  "Like I said, I'm like this puppy to them.  A pet."  I take a bite of chicken and think as I chew.  "There is one girl though, wow, she's amazing.  The most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life.  June Iparis, the other twelve-year-old.  She hates me though.  Whatever."

"What makes you think she hates you?" John asks.

"When I told her that I thought she was pretty, she pretty much told me to take a hike."  I shrug.

"Maybe she'll change her mind later."

"I'm glad I'm seven," Eden says.  "I don't have to worry about whether some girl likes me or not."

"I wish I could join you, kid."

 

John has Saturday off, so we spend the afternoon wandering around Lake sector.

"It's strange coming home from work and not seeing you," he says to me, putting his hands in his pockets.  "When you got that perfect score and were going to high school, it didn't seem all that different from before.  Well, except for the television interviews they kept making you do.  Now, with you gone, it seems to hit home."

"It's really strange being gone."  We approach a couple of attractive girls, probably a couple of years older than me.  "Hi," I say, smiling at them as they pass by us.  They giggle and smile back at me.

"Daniel, don't be a dumbass," he says to me.

I look at him with a puzzled expression.  "What are you talking about?"

"I know how you are around girls.  I know how girls are around you.  Don't do something stupid with a girl that will get you expelled from Drake."

In other words, don't get some girl pregnant.

"John, I'm twelve.  What makes you think that I'm going to do _that_?"  To emphasize my point, I make a face.

"Yeah, you're twelve _now_ , but you won't always be.  Someday you're going to be fourteen, or whatever, and it's not going to be quite as simple.  You'll go to a party and get drunk, and some girl will want to be with you, and you better decide not to be stupid now, before you make the wrong choice."

"I'm not an idiot."

"No, but you don't always think with that brain of yours.  The consequences of being stupid are a lot greater when you have more to lose."  He looks off in the distance.  "There's a boy at our plant.  He's fifteen, and he got some girl pregnant.  He either has to give her a third of his salary, until their child grows up, or he has to marry her.  He doesn't really like her all that much.  You'd lose so much more than that.  You've been to high school, so you'd be better off than me, but you have the potential for so much more.  Don't ruin it."

"Fine, I get it." I roll my eyes.

"Hey, I know you don't want to talk about this," he says, "because it probably hasn't crossed your mind, but would you rather talk about this with _Mom_?"

"Like Mom would bring it up," I snort.

"Exactly.  Which is why _I_ have to talk to you about this.  Don't be stupid, yeah?"

He drops the subject, mercifully.

I have to say goodbye to him Sunday morning, because I'll be gone before he gets home.  Eden and I play games all day Sunday, and that evening, I catch the evening train back to Drake.  Just like that, it's back to college life.

 

On Monday morning we have drill for the first time, and the older students show those of us without military experience how to line up in formation, stand at attention, stand at parade rest, and salute.  After that, we march around for a while.  I notice that Cadet Iparis is already a natural at this.  Maybe she went to a military high school.  I feel a little awkward at first, but by the end of the hour, I start to get the hang of things.

I don't need to change my clothes after drill, so I head to the cafeteria to get a bagel and a piece of fruit.  The cafeteria is fairly empty at this hour.  I sit down next to Lauren, one of the other freshman girls in my platoon.

"Was that your first time marching?" she asks, putting some cream cheese on her bagel.

"Yeah.  How about you?"

"Yep.  I'm not sure what it has to do with fighting in a war though, or winning against the Colonies."

I shrug.  "Maybe it has to do a little bit with being able to listen to commands and just obey orders."  I smile at her.  "I've never been very good at obeying orders though.  There's a part of me that just wants to rebel, out of spite."

"I wouldn't have thought that about you."

I laugh.  "I've learned that it's better to hide that rebellious part of me, yeah?  I've gotten good at not getting caught."

She grins at me.  "So, Mr. Rebel, have you ever kissed a girl?"

I feel my face getting hot.  I've kissed a couple girls on the cheek before in high school, and girls have done the same to me, but I've never kissed a girl on the lips.  I figured that I'd get there some day, but I hadn't yet worked up to it.

"Would you like to try?"

I smile at her, although my stomach flips with nervousness at the thought.  "Sure, why not?"  I try to look nonchalant, ignoring my sweaty palms.

She closes her eyes, leans into me, and presses her lips to mine.  I'm not sure what to do at first.  Her lips feel soft, although I guess that's probably to be expected.  For a moment, I sit there, frozen, but then I think that maybe that's not a good idea, so I concentrate on what she's doing and try to mimic her.  After a while, I start kissing her back.  I feel tingly all over.

She pulls away, and I look up at her and smile.  "Not bad for a first try," she says.

For a fraction of a second, I see beyond her.  June is standing there, holding a tray with some fresh fruit and a muffin on it.  She's looking right at me.

I can't worry about what June thinks about me.  It's not like I matter to her anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you're worried, j'adore June and Day together. They'll get there, eventually ;-).
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments and likes are always appreciated!


	8. Camping Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Platoon 4B goes on a camping trip to learn about survival skills. Daniel and June have to stand watch together.

**June**

I'm looking forward to our platoon's camping trip.  Metias took me camping a long time ago, and I really liked it.  Plus, I'm excited to learn some practical survival skills.  If we're ever in a situation where we really have to be out on our own, which could potentially happen when fighting a war, it would be handy to have.

We all meet in the early afternoon on Friday, after all of the classes are over for the day.  We're all going to be taking a large bus.  When I arrive, I see groups of people milling around the bus.  Daniel is talking to Josh and Karen, who seem to be laughing at some joke he told.

Derrick waves to me.  "Hi June!" he says.  "Go ahead and put all your things underneath the bus."

The underside of the bus is open and is half-full of duffel bags of clothes, bags with people's tents in them, and storage containers full of camping equipment.  I stow my tent and clothes underneath the bus like everybody else has.

I talk to Josh as we wait another ten minutes and forty-five seconds as a few more other cadets arrive.

"Time to board the bus!" First Class Cadet Martell shouts.  We line up at the entrance of the bus and find a seat.

Karen and Josh sit together.  I notice that Daniel takes a seat by himself in the row across from them, but ends up chatting with one of the sophomore girls in the seat in front of him.  Funny, I thought he was with Lauren, but she ends up sitting with a sophomore in the back of the bus.  I had seen Daniel kissing her though.  That was about a month ago, so maybe not.  That can be a lifetime in a relationship at our age.

It takes several hours to get to the campground, which is located in Central California.  At first I try to read while the bus rattles along, but most of the other students have other ideas.  An upperclassman has the idea to start singing songs, and most of the other students join in.  I give up reading my book and sing along.

It's starting to get dark as we arrive, but we still have to set up our tents.  I set up mine fairly quickly, and then help some of the other freshmen that are having trouble.  Daniel seems to be having a little difficulty with his tent, but I ignore him in favor of helping Derrick.  By the time I’m done helping him, Daniel already figured it out on his own.

All of the classes have duties for the camping trip.  The freshmen are standing watch on Friday night, the sophomores are standing watch on Saturday night, the juniors are making dinner on Friday, and the seniors are making Saturday night's dinner.

Karen, another one of the freshmen, approaches me with a piece of paper.  "I have tonight's watch schedule," she says.  "You are sooo lucky!"

I look at the paper.  I have the watch from midnight to 0200 with Daniel.  "Why am I lucky?" I ask.  "I'm standing watch in the middle of the night."

"Yeah, but did you see who you're standing watch _with_?"

"Daniel.  Great."  I say it almost with a monotone voice.

"You don't sound so enthusiastic about it.  Maybe it's a twelve-year-old thing."  She laughs.

"Well, I'm not as into him as most people are, I guess."

She shrugs.  "Fair enough."

 

At fourteen minutes before midnight, Karen wakes me up.  "Time to get ready for watch," she says.

I rub the sleep from my eyes and sit up in my sleeping bag.  The air is a little chilly, even inside the tent.  I quickly get dressed after Karen leaves the tent, making sure to throw on a jacket.

I join Karen and Ed, another freshman, at five minutes before midnight.  Daniel is arriving at the same time.

"Okay, since you're both here, I can explain it to you both at the same time," Karen says.  "We just have to make sure that nothing goes on.  Nobody sneaks around in the camp playing pranks, wildlife don't wander into the camp and eat everything, that sort of thing.  You'll wake up your reliefs fifteen minutes prior to the end of your watch.  Got it?"

We both nod.

"Have a good watch!"  I watch them as they both take off to their respective tents.

Daniel holds up a thermos.  "I brought some hot chocolate.  Want some?"

"Where'd you get that?"

"The thermos I brought from home.  I filled it up with hot chocolate at dinnertime.  I thought we might want something when it was cold outside and we had to stand watch."

"Sure, I'll take some."  It's difficult to believe that he has the foresight to think of something like that.

He pours a cup full of steaming liquid for me.  "Good thing these things keep hot for a long time," he says, handing me the cup.

After pouring himself a cup, he sets the thermos down.  He sips his drink silently, watching the forest outside of the camp.

I hope this won't be an awkward two hours.

"So… did you and Lauren break up?"

He looks at me.  "What are you talking about?"

"You weren’t sitting by her on the bus."

"I'm not sure why you think I would be sitting by her."

"I saw you kissing her the other day."

"Oh, _that_ ," he laughs.  "She asked me if I had ever kissed a girl before, and when I said no, she asked me if I wanted to try it.  So I thought 'Hey, why not?'  That's all there is to that."

"You don't think that people might not get the wrong idea?"

"About what?  A sixteen-year-old girl is not going to be interested in a twelve-year-old.  Not like that, anyway.  We were just having some fun, that's all."  He takes another sip of his hot chocolate.  "You're in the same boat as I am.  You should know that."

"I'm not going around kissing boys."

"Yeah, well, maybe boys aren't as into puppies and kittens."

I raise my eyebrows.  "What do puppies have to do with anything?"

"Puppies are cute.  Little.  To some of the girls at this school, I'm just an adorable little boy.  That's all."

I remember Josh saying something like that to me on one of our first days of classes.  I guess Daniel believes in milking the puppy thing for all it's worth.

"I'm not complaining though," Daniel says.  "Being at Drake being with older kids certainly beats joining my brother at the steam plant."

"You have a brother?"

"Yeah, I have two.  John is seventeen, and my little brother Eden is seven."  He takes another sip of hot chocolate.  "What about you?  Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"I have a brother," I say.  "His name is Metias.  He's a captain in the army.  He's twenty-four."

"I guess that's why you're so good at drill.  You've been around it for a while."  He sets his cup of hot chocolate down and blows into his hands.  "Speaking of that, congratulations on winning cadet of the month the other day, Cadet Iparis."

"Thanks."  If he's fishing for compliments from me by bringing up something that I've done well, he's got another thing coming.

After sixty-two seconds of silence, Daniel looks down at his watch.  "This is going to take forever.  Did you ever stand a watch before?"

I shake my head.  "No.  But I guess it is pretty boring.  Maybe it's supposed to be."

"Teach us how to pay attention even when we're bored, yeah?"

"Something like that."

We've only been standing watch for twenty minutes and thirty-two seconds, and already we've run out of small talk to exchange.

Daniel looks up at the stars.  "Those are really pretty.  Have you ever seen the stars like that before?"

I join him in gazing at the sky.  "Once.  Metias took me camping a while back.  We went to this place called Yosemite."

"Are you close to your brother?  You seem to have a pretty large age gap."

"In some ways, he's a little like a dad to me."

Daniel nods.  "I guess that makes sense."  His smile drops off of his face, and his eyes seem to dim.  "I last saw my dad on my eighth birthday.  He went to the warfront and never returned."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I say.  "My parents died when I was a toddler.  Car crash."

"I'm sorry."  He puts his hands in his pockets.  "I guess that would explain why your brother is more like a dad to you."

"Yeah.  He takes care of me."  I give him a small smile.  "Sometimes I'm a little difficult to take care of though.  I tend to get into trouble a lot."

He grins at me.  "That's because you get caught.  I told you not to get caught."

"Just like that?  Don't get caught?  How do you manage to do that?"

"Think.  You're smart.  Make sure your steps aren't traceable."  His voice quiets to just barely above a whisper.  "For example, if you dip an ice ball in tar and set it on fire, the ice ball melts and nobody will ever detect that you… ahem… set a building on fire that you probably shouldn't have."

My eyes widen.  "You did something like that?"

"Well, I can't really say, because I don't want to get into trouble, but hypothetically, if I had done something like that, it would have been when I was around seven."

"Seven?"

"I live in Lake.  Well, when not at Drake, anyway.  You rich trots don't know what it's like to be harassed by the police like us slum sector kids do."

"No, I guess we don't."  We have our own sets of problems though.  Everybody has always expected so much from me.  My problem with rebelling is because so many people misunderstand me.  I don't know if that's something that Daniel has to deal with though, but he must have his own problems.

He blows on his hands.  "Want some more hot chocolate?"

 

This morning our platoon is going on a hike to Lake Isabella, where we will first enjoy some time swimming and then learn about survival tactics around lakes.  I wear my one-piece swimsuit underneath my clothes for the hike.  I’m a little worried about going swimming with all of these older kids though.  I’m usually not embarrassed to be twelve, but I’m sure all of the girls around me will be filling out their bikinis, while I'm still so small on top.  I guess there's nobody to impress though, so I try not to worry about it.

I spend some time chatting with Karen on the way up.  Her golden curls bounce as she walks along.  She talks about her family in San Francisco, and I tell her about Metias.  Up ahead, I can see Daniel talking with Derrick.

When we get to the Lake, the older students start taking off their shirts and pants, revealing swim trunks and bikinis.  I notice out of the corner of my eye that Daniel is a little hesitant, just as I am.

He looks around and takes off his shirt.  His muscles are not as developed as the older boys, but he still looks like he's been working out.  I can imagine that when he gets older, he'll have a six-pack that's just as developed as any of the other boys here.  He takes off his pants, leaving the swim trunks that he wore underneath.  I can't help but to admire him, although I try not to make it obvious.

I take off my shirt and pants, and look around.  I definitely feel young at this point, with all of the older girls around me.

Daniel reaches into his pack and takes out a tube of sunscreen.  He slathers some on his face, chest, stomach, neck, and legs.  Then he looks at the tube and sighs.

"I can help you with your back," one of the older girls, a junior, says to him, winking.  He looks a little hesitant.  I’m not sure why.  He always seems so flirtatious around the girls.  Maybe he doesn't want this kind of flirtation.

"Daniel, do you need help with that?" I ask, looking at the sunscreen.  It's not something that I particularly want to help him with, but he looks like he needs it.

He walks in my direction, holding out the bottle.  "Thank you," he whispers.  "With my hair, I can burn really bad.  I'm afraid some of the older girls might make putting on sunscreen into more than that."  He rolls his eyes.  "Since I know you don't really like me, I know you'll just put it on and not try anything funny."

I bite my lip and don't say anything.  It's true that I find him annoying, especially when I have to hear all the girls gush over him.  I put some of the sunscreen and start putting it on his back and neck.

"I thought you liked all of the attention from girls," I say.

" _Some_ attention," he says.  "I just want to have fun.  I don't want anything… more than that… you know?"

I finish with his back.  "All done," I say.

He looks at me.  "Did you bring any?"  I shake my head.  "You can use mine, if you want."

I feel my face get hot.  "Would you put some on my back?"

"Sure."  He puts some sunscreen in his hands, and starts spreading it over the areas not covered by my swimsuit.  His hands feel good over my back, although I'm pretty sure that he's not trying to do anything inappropriate.  Why is it that he has this effect on me, even though I find him so irritating?

When he finishes with my back, he hands me the sunscreen.  "Just put it in my pack when you're done with it, okay?"  He heads into the lake with the rest of our platoon mates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments are always welcome.


	9. Platoon Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel and June are now sophomores. June hosts a party for the sophomores in her platoon, and she has a little too much to drink.

**June**

I don't know why I offered to host a "welcome back to Drake" party for all the sophomores in Platoon 4B tonight.  I'm sure it was a stupid idea.  I guess it was because I'm trying to build relationships with these people, and everybody else lives in the dorms, so they can't host a party.  I just hope Metias doesn't come home early.  He's supposed to be out on patrol all night, so as long as I can get this place cleaned up by the time he comes home, he'll never know any different.

I hope that Daniel doesn't come tonight.  Since I'm inviting _all_ of the sophomores in our platoon, I couldn't not invite him, but I still hope he doesn't come.  He continues to grate on my nerves.  Especially since he's willing to kiss just about any pretty girl that wants to.  He's developed quite a reputation over the past year about being a little ladies' man.

No such luck.  He happens to be the third person to arrive.

"I brought some drinks," he says, holding up a six pack of beer.

_Why did I think that holding a party in my apartment was a good idea again?_   I don't think that Daniel goes to a lot of college parties, but I guess he got the memo that college parties require alcohol.  Caitlyn and Lauren, who arrived earlier, also brought beer.  I contributed some soda to the party, but at this point, I doubt that it's going to be the chief drink of the evening.

He looks at the other two girls and winks at them.  "Good evening, ladies," he says to them, sitting down next to them on the couch.  He pets my dog Ollie, who lies contentedly on the floor in front of them.

A minute later, another two guests arrive.  Ed Payne and Matthew Lopez.  I think that I'd prefer Daniel at this party than them.  Daniel is merely irritating, while Ed and Matthew often mock me, in subtle ways, about my age.  At least Daniel doesn't do that.

Nearly everybody from the sophomore class of our platoon attends, except for Karen and Josh.  I guess they're studying.  I see Daniel talking to Caitlyn, holding a beer in his hand.  I'm drinking soda.  Metias would kill me if I got drunk.

"Let's play a game," Ed suggests.  "How about Never Have I Ever?"

I don't know that game.  Ed must sense that, because he starts describing the game.  "So, we go around the room and say something that we've never done.  For example, I've never been to the moon, so I could say 'never have I ever been to the moon.'  Anybody that has done what I have never done, takes a drink."  He looks at me.  "Sorry, June, you're going to need something alcoholic for this.  It takes all the fun away if you're drinking soda."

My face starts to feel hot.  I don't really want to do this, but I take the beer he hands me anyway.

"I'll start," Josh says.  "Never have I ever gone to a party with someone that I secretly had a crush on."

Lauren and Derrick take a drink.  Daniel sits quietly for a second, like he's thinking, and then takes a drink.  A very large drink.

"Never have I ever lived in a gem sector!" Daniel says, grinning.

Everybody in the room except him takes a drink.  As I take a drink, the beer feels warm and stings as it slides down my throat.

"Never have I ever… kissed a boy!" Matthew says, smirking.

All the girls in the room, except me, take a drink.  Daniel shoots Matthew an angry glance.  I'm not sure why.

"Never have I ever… slept with a girl!" Lauren says.

Ed, Matthew, and Derrick take a drink.

"Just to clarify, we're talking about sex here, not sleeping in the same bed with your mom because your family has one bed, yeah?" Daniel asks, looking around the room.

Lauren nods.

"Okay then, because that would be really awkward having to drink to 'never have I ever slept with a four-year-old boy.'"  He laughs nervously, but doesn't take a drink.

“Never have I ever had one of my parents die,” Caitlyn says.

Daniel and I drink.  I already knew about his dad.

"Never have I ever, had my face on the Jumbotrons!" Ed says.

"You're doing this on purpose!" Daniel protests, taking a drink.  "You know only Cadet Iparis and I have had that happen!"  I take another drink.

"Why do you always call her that?" Lauren asks.  "Everybody else calls her June."

Daniel looks at me with a neutral expression.  "When a beautiful lady requests that you do something simple, you comply, yeah?  That's what she wanted me to call her."

I feel a little ashamed.  When we first met, he called me sweetheart, and I told him that I was Cadet Iparis to him.  He's called me that ever since.  I've always wondered why, but I guess I know the answer now.  I'll have to tell him that it's okay for him to call me June.

We go through a few more rounds, until I can feel the effects of the alcohol on my senses.  I know I've had too much to drink.

"Why don't we do something else," I suggest.  Something that doesn't involve drinking more alcohol.

"Truth or dare then," Matthew offers.

Great.  Now that I'm drunk, I have to either answer questions about myself or do silly dares.

"Lauren, truth or dare?" Derrick asks.

"Hmmm… dare."  She plays with her hair as she thinks about her answer.

"I dare you to run up and down the hallway without a shirt on."

Lauren's face turns red.  "Ummm… okay."  She takes off her shirt, leaving her bra on, and leaves my apartment for a minute.  I hope I don't get in trouble for this little game.  I'm also a little worried about what kind of dare someone might have for me.

She returns, sits back on the couch, and puts her shirt back on.  "Daniel," she says, "Truth or dare?"

"After that, I think I'll pick truth," Daniel says, his face turning red.

"So tell me, do you like anybody right now?"

He looks up at the ceiling, as if he is reluctant to answer.  "Yes."

"Who?"

He looks at Lauren and smiles.  "That…" he says, "requires another truth.  Remind me to pick dares for the rest of the evening, because I'm not saying who."  He makes a motion with his hands like he's locking his mouth shut and throwing away the key.

"Matthew," he says, "Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to call your mom and tell her that you're drunk at a party."

He starts to protest, but we hear his side of the conversation.  He looks at Daniel and shakes his head.  "Maybe I'll make you call _your_ mom next dare!"

"Can't.  She doesn't have a phone.  Can't afford it."

Matthew gets a sinister look on his face and looks at me.  This can't be good.  "June," he says.  "Truth or dare?"

"Ummm…" I'm not sure which I should pick.  I'm sure that Matthew can't have a good dare for me, but if I say truth, then he'll probably make me reveal something about how young and childish I am compared to the others.  I decide to be brave.  It would look better in front of the rest of the cadets.  "Dare."

"Go into the closet with Daniel for Seven Minutes in Heaven."

Out of all the possible dare ideas, this seems to be one of the worst.  If Daniel's gaze at Matthew could kill, Matthew would be dead right now.

I'm hoping that Daniel will refuse, but he sighs, stands up, and heads towards the closet.  As he passes Matthew, I hear him mutter "asshole" under his breath.

"Make sure she has fun," Ed says to Daniel, winking at him.  Daniel shakes his head and glares at Ed in response.

When we get into the closet, Daniel looks down.  "I'm sorry about that," he says.

"Why?" I ask.  "You didn't do anything."

"I know.  I can't believe what they're trying to do to you though.  I never realized what lowlife pieces of scum those two were before tonight."

I raise my eyebrows, and wobble a little bit.  All of this alcohol is making me unsteady on my feet.

He puts his hands on my waist to steady me.  His presence, or perhaps his nearness, makes me feel nervous.  "You're smart, you should be able to figure it out.  They find out that you've never kissed a boy during Never Have I Ever, then make you drink until you can barely stand up, then decide to send you into a closet with me.  They're hoping that I take advantage of you."

I frown.  Daniel's theory makes a lot of sense.

"We don't have to do anything though.  I'll even lie for you.  Whatever you want to tell them, I'll say that that's what happened.  If you want to say that I kissed you, I'll tell them 'sure did, and it was the best kiss of my life.'  If you want to say we did something else, I'll agree that we did that too.  Only thing I won't agree to is if you tell them that I hurt you."  He runs a hand over my hair.  "I would never hurt you."

"I'll tell them the truth," I say.  "I don't care.  I'm a big girl."

He's still running a hand over my hair.  He squeezes his eyes shut.  "Now if the contents of my drunken brain would stop leaking out of my goddy mouth, that would be helpful."  I'm not sure what he's talking about.  He realizes that he's touching my hair and pulls his hand away.  "Oops, I’m so sorry.  I shouldn't be doing that, even though I want to."

I laugh.  "They send us into this closet hoping that we'll make out, and you're worried about touching _my hair_?"

He puts his hands in his pockets.  "I just don't want to do anything to upset you."

"You can touch my hair if you want," I say, giving him a playful look.  "I knew that going into this closet with you could be dangerous.  I can deal with a little hair-touching."  I'm pretty sure I shouldn't have had so much to drink though.

He looks at me.  "Are you sure?"

"Yes."  It's probably the alcohol talking, but I'm feeling a little bold.  I put my arms around his waist and pull him close in an embrace.

"I wasn't expecting that, Cadet Iparis," he exclaims, surprised.  He rests his head on my shoulder.  One of his hands leave my hair and start running along my back.

"You can call me June, Daniel," I say.  "We've been in the same platoon for a year now.  We don't need to be so formal all of the time."

"Okay… June."  The name on his lips sounds good.  Then again, it might just be the alcohol swimming in my brain.

"If I’m bothering you, tell me to stop," he remarks.

"No, you're not bothering me," I reply.  His arms running along my back feel good.  My spine tingles.

If his hands along my back feel this good, I wonder what it would feel like to kiss him.

"Kiss me," I say impulsively.

"That's probably not a good idea," he replies.

"I'm going to kiss a boy sometime anyway," I say.  "Might as well be you.  I like how your hands on my back feel."  Suddenly, I feel a little nervous.

"You've had way too much to drink."  He shakes his head.

"I know," I reply.  "But I still can make my own choices."

He looks at me carefully.  "Are you sure?  Because if I kiss you, you'll have to drink when you play 'Never Have I Ever' and the question comes up about kissing a boy."

"Yes, I’m sure."

He kisses me on my cheek, delicately.  He moves his mouth to my lips.  His mouth feels soft and warm.  I kiss him back without thinking.  I can't focus.  He starts to kiss my jaw and my neck.

"Let me know if you want me to stop," he says.  He kisses below my ear, and moves to my mouth again.

I don't want him to stop.

His kisses feel almost… reverent… like I was the most important thing to him that ever existed.

"Do you make all the girls feel this way?" I ask quietly.

He laughs nervously.  "Somehow, I doubt that."

"Why do you say that?"

He groans.  "There goes my drunk brain again, leaking out of my mouth.  The answer to that question is confidential.  I've said too much already."

I really don’t understand what he's saying to me at all.

Daniel continues to kiss me.  "June, you drive me crazy," he whispers, so quietly that I almost can't hear him.  "You have no idea how amazing you are."

In the background, I hear shouting.  "What the hell are you doing in here?" the voice says.

"My brother came back early," I say.  My mind snaps back into reality again, and I realize that I really shouldn't have been doing this.  Daniel stops kissing me and pulls away from our embrace.

"Everybody go home!" I hear Metias shout.  "The party's over."  I hear people picking up their belongings and leaving.  "Where's June?"

"She's in the closet with Daniel," I hear Ed declare.  He says it nonchalantly, although I'm sure that he knows that my brother won't be happy about it.

"You let a thirteen-year-old girl go into a closet with an older boy?  What were you people thinking?"

Ten seconds later, the closet door opens.  Metias is glaring at both of us.

"Wow, a whole whopping six months," Daniel remarks, meeting my brother's gaze.

"And five days," I add.  I don't know everybody's birthdates, but I happen to know Daniel's because when he got the first perfect trial score in history, the media made a big deal out of it.  Metias looks at me to let me know that I’m not helping anything.

"Maybe we can do this again when we both turn fourteen," Daniel says to me.  "Then maybe we'll be old enough to use our tongues."  He winks at me.  "Good night."  I watch him as he leaves my apartment.

I wobble on my feet a little.  Metias guides me to our couch and has me sit down.  "What the hell were you thinking, June?" he asks.  "You throw a party without telling me, get drunk, and then go into a closet with some boy.  You do realize how boys think, right?  That was really _not_ a smart idea."

"He didn't do anything I didn't want him to," I say.  "He was like 'are you sure it's okay if I touch your hair?'"

"I don't care if he behaved like a saint around you."  His hands are shaking.  "You didn't know that.  What if he wanted to hurt you?"

"He didn't.  And I could fight him anyway."

"Not when you're half-drunk.  I'm not going to argue with you tonight any more."  He seems exasperated.  "Go to bed.  I’m sure you'll have a hangover to deal with tomorrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next two chapters are really short. Maybe I'll post them both tomorrow.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments and likes are always appreciated!


	10. Dying Happy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel comes back from the party and talks to his brother John.

**Daniel**

Although some of the alcohol has cleared by the time I get to my home on Watson and Figueroa, I'm still a little drunk.  My brother John sees me as I walk through the door.  I smile at him.

"This was the best night of my life," I say, grinning like an idiot.  "The Republic could send me to the warfront to be cannon fodder tonight, and I would die happy."

John puts his hands on my shoulders.  The expression on his face is worried.  "Please tell me you used protection."

I brush his hands away.  I don't know why John always assumes I'm going to do _that_ anyway.  I'm only _really_ interested in one girl, and even if she did like me, I doubt that that would even enter our minds for a very long time.   "Why?  I just kissed her.  I didn't even use my tongue."  I grin at him.  "But I kissed _her_."

"Who?  June?"

"Yeah."  I sit down on one of the dining room chairs.

"I thought she didn’t like you."

"She probably doesn't.  Some kids dared her to go in a closet with me.  I told her that we didn't have to do anything, but she wanted to kiss me anyway."

"Was she drinking too?"

"Yeah.  That's why I told her no the first couple of times.  But she kept saying she can make her own decisions, so I went along with it."

John shakes his head.  "That wasn't very smart, Daniel."

"Yeah, I know.  I don't really care though."

He puts his arm around my shoulder.  "Let's go to bed.  Don't wake up Mom or Eden.  You've had too much to drink, I can see."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter. Thanks for reading!


	11. What Happens in the Closet...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> June and Daniel talk on Monday morning after the party.

**June**

After drill on Monday, I pull Daniel aside.  "We need to talk."

"Okay."  He follows me into an empty classroom.  He looks at me and crosses his arms.  "What about?"

"What happened on Friday…" I say, looking down at my shoes, "needs to stay in the closet."

"Too late," he says to me.  "I already told my brother John.  He saw me when I got home."

"No, that's not what I meant," I reply.  "Although I would prefer if the whole school didn't find out.  What I meant was, what happened on Friday, that's it.  It was something stupid I did when I was drunk."

"Don't worry," he says to me, frowning.  "I'm not under any delusion that you feel anything but disdain for me."

I frown.  "Disdain is a really strong word…"

"Well, so is telling someone to fuck off when he tells you how beautiful you are."  His voice is raised in anger.  I see a look of hurt flash across his face.

I feel like I've been punched in the stomach.  I had almost forgotten my response to him when he told me that I was attractive on the day we met.  "I didn't say that," I say quietly.

"You might as well."  His voice was quiet again.

He puts his hands in his pockets.  "Look, I'm sorry.  I never wanted to kiss you that way."

_That way?_   So evidently, he had wanted to kiss me, just not drunk on a dare.  "You don't have to apologize."

"I don't have to, but I should.  I should have been more insistent, I should have told you no, telling you that you were in no state to make decisions like that, but I was too selfish.  It was wrong of me."

I look at the floor for a moment.  He doesn't need to feel bad about it.  "You did tell me no.  More than once.  Tried to make sure that that was what I wanted."

"You could barely stand up.  It didn't matter what you wanted."

"Well, don't feel bad about it.  I don't."  I hate to admit it, but I thought it was nice.  "We just can't let it happen again."  I feel him watching me as I walk out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter. Thank you for reading! Comments and likes are always appreciated.


	12. Out of My Goddy Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's spring of Daniel and June's junior year of college. Daniel is talking to his friend Caroline about June.

**Daniel**

The common room on my dorm floor is quiet this evening.  Most of the other students must be getting ready for finals, but I need a break from studying, so I'm watching a little television.  It's hard to believe that next year I'm going to be a senior already.  Only one more year, and maybe…

I see my friend Caroline walk by, and I wave to her.  She's probably one of the few girls at this school that I hang out with that's never tried to kiss me.  It's nice that I can talk to her without worrying about how she feels about me.  We're just friends, and that's perfectly fine with me.  She's also one of the few people outside of my family that knows how I feel about June.

"How you been?" I ask, as she sits down next to me.

"I've been well.  Getting ready for finals, like everybody else.  I haven't seen you around lately."

"Probably because I've been doing the same thing.  Holed up in my room with a book.  Or a pile of books.  Advanced ballistics is killing me."  I make a face.

"I know what you mean."  She leans back on the couch.  "I saw Angela Bailey in the hall.  I think she's looking for you."

"Why?"

"I think she wants to go to the spring formal with you."

I shrug.  "She can want it all she wants.  It isn't going to make it happen."

"You don't want to go to the dance with _anyone_?"  A couple of girls have expressed interest in going to the dance with me, and I've turned them down.

"No.  Not really."

"You don't like to dance?"

"I never said that."  In the summer and on the weekends, sometimes John and I will go to the dance clubs in Lake sector.  It's fun, and good exercise.  Plus, there are plenty of pretty girls there to flirt with.  "I probably should say more specifically that I don't want to go to the dance with anybody that wants to go with me."

"Her, right?"

I sigh.  "I can't get her out of my goddy mind."  I lean forward and rest my elbows on my knees, and put my head in my hands.  "I try, but I can't.  She's just too amazing.  By the time the middle of August rolls around, I finally get to the point where I don't think about her every day.  But then I have to start school again, and I see her in my classes, and at drill with my platoon, and I’m back to where I was again."

I realize that I’m crying.  Great.  Hopefully nobody else walks by at the moment.  "I hate this.  I hate being this cracked.  I shouldn't have kissed her that one time.  I should have been more insistent.  I should have told her, 'Look, you're drunk, we can't do this now, let's just talk until they let us out of the closet.'  But _no_ , I had to be selfish.  I had to do what _I_ wanted.  And now, it's _far_ worse.  I know what she _feels_ like."

She puts her hand on my shoulder.  "You couldn't have known.  And you'll graduate in a year, then you can move on."

"Let's hope so," I say.  "Hopefully we'll get assigned to different cities.  Then in four or five years, other girls my age will start graduating from college and start getting their commissions.  More people to try to forget her with."

She hugs me.  "It'll work out, don't worry," she says.  "You're a nice boy, okay?  Don't worry about it so much."

If only it were that easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this one is short today. The next chapter is longer. Thanks for reading!


	13. Nothing I Wanted to Feel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> June overheard the conversation in chapter 12. Oops.

**June**

I feel like I'm going to be sick.

Earlier today, I got my fourth report of the semester, for talking back to one of my teachers.  Ms. Whitaker thought that for a punishment, I should clean some of the kitchens in the dorms, since everybody's busy studying for finals, and college kids are notoriously messy anyway.  I was cleaning the fifth floor dormitory kitchen and happened to overhear Daniel talking to his friend Caroline.

They were talking about me.  I know it.  Whoever he was talking about is in his platoon, is in classes with him, which means she's probably in his same grade, and he kissed her while she was drunk in a closet.  How many people does _that_ describe?

One person.  Me.

I go upstairs to clean the sixth floor dorm kitchen instead.  I'll just have to go back to the fifth floor later  The last thing I want to do is see Daniel right now.  I especially don't want him to know that I overheard him.

 

This morning I'm helping out with the finals for the Advanced Self Defense class.  Since my teachers put me into Intermediate Self Defense when I was a freshman, I finished the self-defense series a year early, and for another martial arts credit, I decided to be a teacher's assistant for the Advanced Self Defense course.  Which of course, with my everlasting bad luck, Daniel just happens to be a part of.

I don't really want to see him today.  Not after what I overheard him saying to Caroline the day before.  Unfortunately, today I have to spar with him.  My teacher, Lieutenant Roberts, helps me put my padding on over my chest and torso.  At least with this padding on, I know he won't have much to see if he looks at my chest, which we're supposed to do in order to see which limbs our opponent is trying to attack us with.

I help a couple of other students in the class first.  I beat Karen when I fight her; another student in the class, Ben, knocks me down first.  I have to spar with Daniel next.

He smiles at me.  "Okay, Cadet Iparis, let's see what you can do," he says in a challenging tone.

I strike at him with my left hand, and he blocks me.  I kick at him with my right foot, and again, he blocks me.  He tries to strike me with his right hand, and I block him.

We continue like this for a few minutes.  He has definitely improved as a fighter over the semester.  We're both out of breath from exertion.  I don't know which of us is going to win this fight.

I swing at him and he dodges, grabbing my arm and tossing me to the floor.  He pins me down underneath him, and our legs tangle together.  He smiles at me.  "Looks like I won this time."

For a fraction of a second, as I see him hovering over me, I imagine us both naked, and him leaning down and kissing me like this.  I feel like I’m going to throw up.  I don't want to think of him like this.  I don't want him to think of me like this.  He probably has.

My face must show my discomfort, because Daniel's expression suddenly changes from one of triumph to one of worry.  "June, are you all right?" he asks, releasing me from his hold.  I get up and run to the bathroom.

I splash cold water on my face and look down into the sink. 

"Are you okay, June?"  Caroline followed me into the bathroom.  Great.  The second-to-last person I want to see right now.

"No, I'm not," I say, shaking my head.  "I'll be fine though."

"What's wrong?"  She looks at my reflection in the mirror.

"I… I just had a thought, that's all," I say.  "A sickening thought.  It will go away."

Her face is concerned.  "You're one of the strongest people I know," she says, putting her hand on my shoulder.  "This isn't like you."  Her eyes widen for a moment, "Oh, dear Lord," she says.  "Did someone try to attack you?"

I blush.  "Oh, no, nothing like that," I say, shaking my head.  "Nothing like that happened at all."

I almost can see the gears grinding in her head as she thinks.  "You know, Daniel would never hurt you.  I think he'd rather chew his arm off first."

I look at her reflection, confused.

"You were fighting him when you ran over here, right?  Is that what caused you to --"

She looks down into the sink.  "You overheard me talking to someone yesterday, didn't you?" she asks quietly.  "Someone that likes you?  Is _that_ what this is about?"

I look down into my own sink.  "Yes."

"Crap."  Her mouth twists.  "You weren't supposed to hear that."

"But I did."

"Unfortunately, you can't unhear it, I’m sorry.  You'll just have to be a big girl and deal with it.  Try to ignore it."

"That's easier said than done."  I put my hand on my head.  "I imagined him… kissing me.  Without clothes on.  Then I realized that he must think about me like that, and it just made me sick."

"What?  You're afraid that he thinks about having sex with you?"

I nod.

"If what he wanted was someone to have sex with, I’m sure that he could find a girl to screw him before lunch break was over."  She rolls her eyes.  "There are a lot of girls in this school that think it would be cute if she was his first.  But he wouldn’t care about her, and she wouldn't care about him either.  Less than you care about him.  Because for as much as he _thinks_ that you don't like him, I have a feeling that you do."

I don't know how to respond to that.  What makes her think I care about him?  Despite all of the times I see him flirting with girls and kissing them, he hasn't slept with any of them?

"Just for your information June, if a girl doesn't like a guy, she normally doesn't fantasize about him kissing her while he's on top of her."  She walks out of the bathroom, leaving me alone.

 

At lunch, I spot Daniel sitting by himself for a change.  He's reading a book and eating soup.  Probably studying.

"Hi," I say quietly.  "Mind if I sit here?"

"Go ahead," he says, looking up from his book.  "You okay?  It looked like you caught a stomach bug in the middle of class today."

"I think I'll be okay," I say.  I twirl the spaghetti I chose for lunch absentmindedly.  "Can I ask you something?"

"You can ask me anything," he says, leaning towards me.  "It doesn't necessarily mean that I'm going to answer it."

"I was looking for a guy's opinion on something."

"Do you look fat in that dress?  No."  He winks at me.  I’m not even wearing a dress.  I’m wearing my cadet uniform like I always do.

"Ha.  Ha." I reply.  I twirl my spaghetti some more.  "No, I was wondering what guys think about girls fantasizing about them."  I can't believe that I'm asking him about this.

He coughs and almost chokes, accidentally spitting some of his soup across the table in the process.  "Where did that come from?"

"I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable," I say.  "I was just wondering since you're the only boy my age around here; what you thought about that."

"It's not like people tell a person that they're fantasizing about them.  I'm sure a girl or two has thought about me that way, but it generally stays in their heads, yeah?  Boys aren't mind readers.  And in many ways it's fortunate, neither are girls."  He grins at me.  "Where does this subject come from in the first place?  Is there some lucky guy you're secretly into?"

"I don't think I'm into him," I say, shaking my head.  "Which was why it was so weird when I thought about a guy that way.  But then I thought, what if he found out?  Would he be upset?"

"Well, I have to tell you, guys think of the weirdest things."  His face is turning pink.  "Especially older boys." He shakes his head.  "Trust me, you don't want to know some of the things that these older boys say about girls.  Whatever you're thinking, I don't think whatever guy you're thinking about would find it weird.  And he's not going to know, unless you tell him.  And if you did tell him, then his reaction would probably depend on whether he liked you or not."

"Do you think about girls, sometimes?" I ask.  I rest my elbow on the table and lean on my hand.

"You know, this is a really weird topic, coming from you," he says.  He seems confused.  "But yeah, I think about girls sometimes.  Usually one particular girl."  He seems conflicted.  "Maybe we should change the subject, okay?  I know you wanted a guy's opinion, but maybe this is a topic you should talk to another girl about, yeah?  I'm really not the best person to talk to you about things like this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost at the end of our story; only two chapter left. Thank you for reading. Comments and likes are appreciated.


	14. Hurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is now November of their senior year. Daniel is hurt while playing soccer. This chapter is M-rated.

**Daniel**

It's hard to believe that we're already more than halfway through our last fall semester at Drake.  June was named our platoon leader for the year; so far, she's been doing an amazing job.  She's tough on all of the cadets, keeping them in line, but she cares about them at the same time, making sure that if they have trouble, they can get the help that they need.  She's going to make an outstanding officer.

Today for physical training, we're playing soccer.  Like most November days in Los Angeles, the weather is fairly warm.  I'm sweaty from the workout I'm getting.

Karen, who has been assigned to the other team, kicks the ball in my direction, and I run to block it.  As I swing my leg at the ball, my foot makes contact --

\-- and I fall.

I find myself on the ground in incredible pain.  I try to stand up, but I can't.  In fact, I can't even bend my left leg.  I can only wince and clutch at it.

June rushes up to me.  "Are you all right?"

I shake my head.  "No.  I can't move my leg."

"Josh, call an ambulance!"  She bends down to look at my leg.  "What happened?"

"I don't know.  All I know is, I kicked at the ball, and the next thing, I'm on the ground.  I can't bend my knee."  I try to bend my knee, but all it does is cause me an extreme amount of pain.  The pain is excruciating.

"Do you want to call your mom so she can meet you at the hospital?"

I shake my head.  "She doesn't have a mic.  I guess I'll have to let her know what happened when I get out of there."

"Nonsense.  We'll send someone by her house."

"She gets off work at six."

"Then, as your platoon leader, I will personally stop by her house at six to let her know what's going on."

I look at her.  "You don't have to do that, Cadet Iparis."

"Nonsense."

June dismisses the platoon for the day, telling them to go for a run on their own instead.  She waits with me, holding my hand, until the ambulance arrives.

"I'm going with you to the hospital," she says, as the paramedics put me on a stretcher.

"Don't be silly, June," I say.  She stays with me as I'm moved into the back of the ambulance.  "I'm going to be a military officer next year.  I can handle myself just fine."

"And that's why you got into this ambulance by yourself," she says, sitting down in a seat in the ambulance next to my stretcher.

"Well, I can't move my leg, but that's what the medical staff is here for."

I can feel the ambulance rumble down the road now.

"What, June, are you going to help me if I fall down in the shower, too?"  Her face turns pink when I say that.  She's probably imagining me naked in the shower.

"No, but I feel like I need to look out for my people."

"Really?  You'll accompany Matthew and Ed if they ever get injured at drill and go to the hospital too?"  I give her a disbelieving look.  There's no way that she'd go to the hospital with them.  I know she despises them.

The ambulance pulls up to the hospital rather quickly.  As the medical staff carry my stretcher through the hospital building, I notice a crowd of people sitting in the waiting area.  A lot of them look like they are from the poorer sectors of Los Angeles.  Here I am, getting into a hospital room immediately.  I feel like such a trot.

June waits with me for a while until a nurse comes in to check my vitals.

"I’m Nurse Flores," she says, introducing herself.  "I see you injured your knee?"

"Uh, yeah.  I can't bend it."

"We'll get a doctor to come take a look at that shortly.  It's a good thing you're wearing shorts, because this way your knee is exposed already and you won't have to take off your pants.  But I do want you to put this hospital gown on, okay?  You can face it towards the back and leave your shorts on."

I take the hospital gown and the nurse leaves the room.  June blushes again, and I smirk at her.

"What's that all about?" she says.

"You probably don't want to know."  I pull off my shirt.

"I guess I don't."  She makes a face.

I roll my eyes.  "Now I probably have to tell you because if I don't, you'll think it's worse than it is." I laugh.  "I just think it's cute how you look when you imagine me with my pants off."

Her face turns even pinker.  "I am not!  Imagining you without pants, that is."  She fakes a look of indignation.

Her eyes glance down at my crotch, however.  Unfortunately, right at this moment, thinking about June imagining me without pants on causes my body to rush half of my blood to my penis, and it starts to grow.  I can feel it move underneath my athletic shorts and silk boxers, like a snake writhing under its own volition.  A couple seconds later, it's sticking straight out, forming a tent out of the flimsy fabric.

I quickly throw the hospital gown on, which is now covering my crotch, but I know that June saw.  She was still looking down when I covered it.  She looks up at me, with what looks like a mixture of fascination and horror.

I can't see myself in the mirror at this point, but I doubt that my face can get any redder.

We sit there for what seems like an eternity, but it was probably less than a minute.

"Um… sorry about that.  I told you not to come to the hospital with me."

"That's something I'm never going to unsee," she says to me, not looking me in the eye.

I shift uncomfortably on the hospital bed.

"It was really weird how it… moved… like that," she says.

"Oh, yeah, really strange.  I’m so glad you find it amusing."  I think the last place I want to be is in a hospital bed with June, talking about my dick.  Maybe it might be an interesting topic of conversation if we were making out…

"How is something like that… it must be big… supposed to fit inside a girl?" she asks.

"How should I know?" I shrug.  "I guess they do, somehow.”  I scowl.  “Unless you want to climb on top of me and find out, maybe you should shut up about it.”

"Why are you so pissy?"

"Like you wouldn't be pissy if something embarrassing happened to you and the person that saw it was commenting about it?  What if we went to the beach, June, and your top fell off?  Would you want me commenting about how big your breasts were, or how beautiful they looked when they bounced in the waves?"

"No, I guess not."  She frowns.  "I’m sorry.  I didn't mean to hurt you."

For a moment, I think she wants to kiss me.  If she does, she decides against it.  I think she might be attracted to me, but she doesn't want to be.  She's been acting strangely since right before summer break.  I'm not sure why, but that could be the reason.

I tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear.  "Could we just pretend this never happened?"

"Well, it's going to be a little difficult to pretend you didn't injure your knee this morning, especially if you end up on crutches.  That was all that happened today, right?"  She smiles weakly at me.

I hear a knock on the door.  Saved by the doctor.

"Hello, Daniel," the doctor says, reaching out his hand for me to shake.  "I'm doctor Carlson.  I'm here to take a look at your knee.  I heard you can't bend it."

I shake my head.  "No, I can't move it."

"We'll want to take it to get an x-ray."  The doctor looks over at June.  "Cadet Iparis, if you would like, you can wait right here until we get back."  She nods.

Getting the x-rays taken was painful, because they had to move my leg in all sorts of uncomfortable positions in order to get all the necessary angles.  The medical staff help me move, because I'm practically helpless when it comes to anything that requires my leg.  Fortunately, my erection goes away before I return to my hospital room.  June is still sitting there when I get back.

The nurse comes in a few seconds later with some pain pills and a glass of water.  "This will help reduce the swelling," she says.

"Thank you," I say, taking the pills.

We sit quietly, not talking about what happened, until the doctor comes back a few minutes later.  "It looks like you tore your ACL," the doctor says.  "Right now it's really swollen; it might take some time for the swelling to go down.  It should heal, for the most part, on its own, if you stay off of it.  If it doesn't heal completely after the swelling goes down, say, six or seven weeks, then it might need surgery."

I nod.

"I'll need you to stay here overnight, and then I'll discharge you in the morning, okay?  Then you'll probably need to use crutches to get around for the next couple of weeks."

Great.  I'll have to walk around on goddy crutches for a while.

"I should go back to class," June says after the doctor leaves.  "I can get your mom when she gets off of work.  She gets home at six, right?"

"Yes.  They live on the corner of Watson and Figueroa."

"Okay.  I'll bring them back this evening."

 

That evening, June returns with my mom and Eden.  I give my mom a hug, then my brother.  "It's good to see you," I tell them.

"I guess I'll see you later," June says, backing out the door.  "Call me if you need anything."

"Sure."

"How do you feel?" my mom says.

"It hurts, really bad," I say.  "When I try to move it, at least.  It'll be okay though.  I tore my ACL.  It's some part of my knee."

"I got to ride in a military truck!" Eden says.  "Your friend June is really nice."

I look at him, puzzled.

"I think she likes you," my mom says.  "She may not have liked you before, but I think she does now."

It's hard to believe that she might like me, after all this time.

Eden shows me his science project, and my mom talks about work.  They decide to go home a few hours later, letting me get some sleep.

As I drift off, I think about how nice it was of June to go get Mom and Eden for me.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I was a little nervous about posting this chapter, so I hope you like it. Comments and likes are appreciated.


	15. Soup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Metias is murdered. Daniel brings over some soup.

**June**

My brother died last night.

"Love you, Junebug," was the last thing that he ever said to me.  The last time I ever heard his voice.  It's hard to believe that he's gone now.

Metias had gone to work last night, guarding the hospital.  He was supposed to be back late, but instead, Thomas knocked on my door.  He said that he had to take me to the hospital; that my brother had died.

Someone had poisoned him.

He looked so peaceful, lying in the hospital bed.  They had tried to save him, but the poison had already stopped his heart.  He was already gone.

Tonight, I'm thumbing through our old photo albums and looking at some of Metias's handwritten journals.  He used to keep all of his journals on paper, even though he had been an expert hacker.  He told me that handwritten documents couldn't be tracked, that they were safer.  I have one arm draped over Ollie and a box of tissues at my side.  I allow myself to grieve.

Earlier in the day, there had been a small announcement on the Jumbotrons about my brother's death.  I suppose that normally, a Captain's death wouldn't warrant a notice on the Jumbotrons, but since it looks like his death was a murder, it made the news.  You don't murder an officer in the Republic without at least a small mention of his death on the news.

I saw Commander Jameson, his boss, when I was at the hospital, and she looked at me sympathetically.  "We'll find out who did it," she promised.

I hear a knock at my door.  I put down my photo albums.  Maybe it's Thomas again, coming to check up on me.

It's Daniel.  He looks pathetic as he stands there on his crutches, soaking wet, with a tote bag slung around his neck.

"I heard about your brother," he says.  "I'm so sorry.  My mom made you some soup."

"What the hell, Daniel?" I exclaim, removing the tote bag from around his neck.  "Were you trying to get yourself killed out there?"  They cut the power to the residences last night, so I know the elevators weren't working.  Not only did he take the train from his little home in Lake to here, but he also walked up five floors of stairs -- on crutches.  With a heavy tote bag around his neck.

He laughs.  "My mom says I was cracked to want to come."

"Yeah, probably."  In Daniel's tote bag is an old, dented soup pot.  I set it down on the counter.

The pot is probably older than he is.  It's probably the only soup pot his family owns, I realize.  He had his mom make me a pot of soup, he carried it across town on crutches, and walked up five flights of stairs, just to try to make me feel better?

I think of the very first thing I ever said to him.  An insult.  I never apologized for it.  I've never been particularly nice to him.  Even still, he's never been anything but nice to me.  I don't deserve it.

I start to cry.  Not because of my brother, although I've done plenty of crying for him over the last seventeen hours and thirty-five minutes, that's for sure, but because of all the guilt I feel at this moment.  I should have treated Daniel better than I have.

He hobbles over and puts his arms around me.  I rest my head on his chest.

"I know that some goddy soup isn't going to bring your brother back," he says, running his hands along my back, "but my mom says that at least there'll be one less thing for you to worry about if you don't have to feed yourself."  He thinks I’m crying about my brother.  Good.

"Your mom is a smart lady."

Other than Thomas, Daniel has been the only person to visit me today.  All of my other classmates have cars; Daniel has the train and a pair of crutches.  Nobody else cared enough to even call, let alone bring me food in his family's only soup pot.

"Thank you," I say, crying.  "I'm so sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"  He pulls me even closer to him.

"I've been horrible to you since we first met.  I never apologized for insulting you when I first met you, even though… I stopped feeling that way about you a long time ago.  Will you forgive me?"

"I did that a long time ago."

I want to kiss him, and to be kissed by him.  I put his hands on his neck, and pull his face to mine.  I kiss him hesitantly at first, but then he returns his kiss towards me.  This is nothing like the kisses we shared in the closet when we were thirteen -- his kisses are more passionate, hungrier.  As he kisses me, I realize that I want him just as much as he wants me.  I don't know if either of us is ever going to want to stop.

Eventually, he pulls away.  For a moment we just stare at each other, out of breath.  "Maybe, we could be friends," I say.  "Or perhaps, someday, a little more."

If I had ever been in a situation like this with somebody else, I would think that we've probably already entered into that 'more than friends' stage already, considering how he just had his tongue in my mouth a few seconds ago, but this is Daniel.  He's kissed a lot of girls that he is only friends with.

"I'm hoping for 'a little more' myself," he replies, winking at me.

"Perhaps you can get your wish," I say, "if you can keep your tongue out of other girls' mouths."

"That'll be easy," he says dismissively.  "Why settle for a June substitute if I can have the real thing?"  He kisses me again.

"I should go," he says, after he pulls away again.  "My mom and my brother both know I like you, and they know that you're living by yourself now, and if I stay too long, they'll probably think that I slept with you."  He rolls his eyes.

"You know I can't let you go down those stairs on crutches without help," I say.  "If you fell down the stairs and broke your neck, I'd never be able to forgive myself."

He sighs.  "All right."

I carry his tote bag for him.  It doesn't weight much without the heavy pot of soup in it, but he doesn't have spare hands to carry it with himself.  "I can drive you home too, so you don't have to take the train, okay?"  He smiles.

"The plague patrols are going through Lake," he tells me, as I help him down the stairs.  "My brother Eden has the sniffles and a fever.  He's always been a sickly kid.  The plague patrol stopped by our house today and almost quarantined him.  If we hadn't been vaccinated, they probably would have.  They're still going to keep an eye on him though."

"I hope he gets better soon."

"I'm sure he will, but I'm a little worried about him."

I push thoughts of Eden and Metias to the back of my mind as I help Daniel down the stairs and into my car.  He can bend his knee a little bit now, but he still can't put a lot of weight on his leg without it causing a great deal of pain.  I hope his leg heals quickly.

We both have pain in our lives.  Maybe we'll be able to get through it together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's the end. I hope you liked it.
> 
> "Day" wasn't a wanted criminal, so he wasn't conveniently located to blame Metias's murder on, but Metias still figured out what was going on, so he had to be offed in another way.
> 
> Thank you for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> Since the first draft of this work is finished, it shouldn't take too long to get the rest of the story to you (I'm still waiting for inspiration for a chapter and a half of Like Normal People).
> 
> I hope you like the beginning of this story and I hope you keep on reading. Likes and comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!


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